Dump-car-door-operating mechanism.



BEST AVAILABLE cow A. CAMPBELL.

DUMP GAR DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 26, 1912.

Patented Feb. 4, 1913.

2 SHEETS-$111331 1.

WITNESSES ATTORNEYS A. CAMPBELL.

DUMP CAR DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 26. 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

5L1, ATTORNEYS INVENTOR Patented Feb. 4, 1913.

1 1 r n STATES PATENT OFFICE.

- A'EGYLE "oAMrBE L, or'omoaeo, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 ENTERPRISE RAILWAY EQUIPMENT COMPANY, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

DUMP-GAR-DOOR-OPERATING MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 4,1913.

Application filed August 26, 1912. Serial No. 717,088.

To all whom it may concern Be itknown that I, AuorLE Caurnunn, a citizenof theUnited States, residing in Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Im- Movement in Dump-Car-Door-Operating Mechanism," of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to im rovement in damp car door operating mccinnism.

An object of the invention is to provide a shaft operating mechanism for doors of dump cars, which mechanism is so arranged that the winding Windlass shaft is always completely under the control of the operator during theunwinding operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a door operating mechanism havin a pawl and ratchet device so arranged hat the shaft may be unwound step by step without danger of breaking or stripping the ratchet wheel teeth.

in the novel eombinatlons of parts and de.

vices herein shown, described or claimed.

In dump cars employing door operating mechanism which includes a windlassshaft, it is highly desirable that the unwinding of the shaft may be completely under the 1 control of the operator at all times, without danger to theoperator at any time. In the type of dump cars em loying a Windlass shaft and chain, the oad on the doors, which often amounts to several tons, has a tendency to unwind the shaftat great i speed as soon as the locking mechanism on the shaft is released, thus rendering the 1 operator liable to inJury vby the claw-bar which is caused to fly around with the shaft.

Inmy construction I'em loy a ratchet .whel secured to theoperat1n shaft and having'its teeth turnedin one irection and a double-acting pawl mechanism which eomprises a pivoted pawl, a pivoted link and an operating lever therefor, all so arranged that the operating'shaft may be locked in anydesired, position and automatically throwing the owl into lockin engagement with" the rate et teeth at eac step. This featureof being able to lock the .windlass shaft inany desired position is especially val- 2 uablefwhere the double acting pawl mechanism lis used in'i connection with ballast dumping cars which have the door openings angles to that shown in Fig. Figs. 5 and G are side and edge views, respectively, of the pa w] member of the operating mechanism. Figs. 7 and 8 are top and side views, respectively, of the link employed in the operating mechanism, and Fig. 9 is a plan view of the operating lever.

In the drawing, 10 denotes the body of the car, which may be of any well known form of dump car, and provided with an operating Windlass shaft 11 adapted to open and close the our doors by means of chains or other flexible connection, not shown, the shaft havin secured thereto at its end a ratchet wheed 12 having teeth 13 all pointed in the same direction. For releasing the operating shaft step by step, the following double-acting pawl mechamsm is provided, the same comprising a pawl 14, having an engaginf toothed end 15 and pivotally mounted on a )in 16, the latter being socured to the end 17 of the car and an angle. plate 18. Pivotally mounted in the forked end 19 of the pawl 14 is a link 20, the same having a toothed end 21 adapted to engage the teeth 13, and pivotally secured at its opposite end to the short arm 29. of an operating lever 23, the latter being pivotally mounted on a pin 24 secured to the car end and an angle plate 25. For locking the mechanism 1n p ace, the usual form of pawl locking member 26 is provided, and for winding up the shaft the latter is provided with a squared end 27 adapted to be turned by a wrench or claw bar.

Theoperation is as follows: \Vhcn the double-acting pawl mechanism is in the position shown by the full lines in Fig. 3, the tooth 15 will prevent the shaft from being rotated by the load on the car doors, but as the operatin lever 23 is raised to the position shown in dotted line, the tooth 15 Ill) i of thefpawl w ill. be-disengaged from the lratchetwheel-Sandthe tooth 21 of the-link lwillvlbe,projected' i'nto the path of another tootli'ofzfthe ratchet wheel, but the load on l the 'sha ftl'will immediately throw the tooth 21 froni' engagement with the ratchet wheel i and: this 'movementfo'f the link 20 will autogmaticallydhrow' the tooth 15 of the pawl zintoenga ementwith the next succeeding tooth of the ratchet wheel to that engaged i by the pawl before the disengagement takes place. In this manner the shaft is automatically prevented "from rotation after each disengagement of the pawl, and in or- 1 der to open-t-he doors or unwindthe shaft it is necessary to repeat the above cycle of 2operationsuntilxthe complete oaening of ;the doors is eti'ected. By making the operatjing lever long enough and'properly arrang- ;ing the various system of leverages in the double-acting pawl mechanism, it is possible for the operator to stop the rotation of the shaft'bv means of the tooth 21 of the link gby holding the lever 23 in its proper posiition, but ordinarily the operation will be {as first described. With the above con- ;struction it will be seen that the unwinding {of the shaft is at all times under the per- ;fect control of the operator, and that the :shaft may be held in any desired position, and thatthe teeth of the ratchet wheel are never subjected to any severe shocks which might otherwise cause breaking or stripping :of the teeth.- I claim:

1. In a door operating mechanism of the class described, in combination: an operating shaft having a ratchet wheel thereon; a pan of members movable relatively to each other and adapted to en age the teeth of the ratchet wheel alternate, and means for opcratingf'said members, whereby the shaftmay berotated to unwind the same step by Estep, substantially as specified. f 2."In' afdoor operating mechanism of the class described, in combination: an operat iingshaft having a ratchet wheel thereon a pivoted pawl; a pivoted" toothed link; and means for operat-mgsaid pawl and link so that they-alternately engage the teeth of the icoplesiot Hill "patent maybe obtained for ratchet wheel to thereby allow the same to rotate step by step, subsantially as specified.

3. In a door operating mechanism of the class described, in combination: an operating shaft having a ratchet wheel thereon; a pair of members movable relatively to each other and adapted to engage alternately the teeth of the ratchet wheel; and a pivoted lever substantially as specified.

4. In a door operating mechanism of the class described, in combination: an operating shaft having a ratchet wheel thereon; a pivoted )awl; a pivoted toothed link; and a pivotec operating lever adapted to move said awl from engagement with the teeth of tie ratchet wheel, substantially as specified.

5. In a door operating mechanism for dump cars, in combination: an operating shaft having a ratchet wheel thereon; a pivoted pawl; a toothed link pivotally secured to said pawl; a pivotally mounted operating lever plvotallv secured to said link, said lever being adapted to move the pawl from engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheel and the link bein adapted to automatically throw the pawI back into engagement with a succeeding tooth of the ratchet wheel; and means for locking the pawl in position, substantially as specified.

6. In a door operating mechanism for dump cars, in combination: a windlass shaft having a ratchet wheel thereon and adapted to be rotated by the load on the dump car doors to open the latter; a pivoted pawl cooperating with the teeth of said ratchet wheel to prevent the shaft from rotation in one direction; means for disengaging said pawl from the ratchet wheel teeth; and means automatically operated from the shaft for throwing said )awl back into engagement wth a succeecing tooth of the ratchet wheel after each disengagement, whereby to automatically stop the shaft from rotating, substantially as specified.

ARGYLE CAMPBELL.

. Witnesses:

PEARL AJSRAMS, H. M. JMUNDAY.

five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

